How to save money while traveling (by car)

Hello again! Remember me, Sarah Louise, your favorite blogger? HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

Today we are going to talk about saving money while traveling (by car.)

There are certain expenses you can't avoid if you own a car. You have to get the oil changed, you have to pay for gas, and then there is that pesky cabin air filter. Jiffy Lube wanted $79 to change it!! We'll be going to Auto Advantage to price them, thank you very much!! (I called the local car parts store and it sounds like the part is less than $20 and they'll install it too!)

But if you are taking a road trip (ROAD TRIP!) that's more than four hours, you're going to need supplies. The old Sarah Louise stopped at every rest stop, used the facilities, browsed in the shop, got a drink or a snack, and got back on the road. That is not the new new Sarah Louise. No, the new new Sarah Louise watches every penny go in and out.

It's quite amusing, especially when SL buys something, gets home, realizes she doesn't need it, and later takes an afternoon to return all the things she doesn't need. I'm working on "do I need this?" while I'm in the store, to save on gas, but in this post we're talking about road trips that last hours and hours, not errands around town.

Yes. Sorry. Where was I? Oh. Yes. Drinks. If you plan ahead, you don't have to just drink water. (I don't drink pop,* for the most part.) Get a bottle with a top. Yes, you will need to start saving bottles. For the purpose of this trip, I decided that I'd rather have iced tea for the trip than old lemonade in the fridge that was past it's expiration date by YEARS and that I was contemplating using in recipes. So the lemonade that I paid $1.50 for at Whole Foods back in 2013 is still saving me money!

Sarah Louise's Road Trip Iced Tea

Ingredients:
Tea bags
Sugar, to taste (optional)

Equipment:
A bottle (preferably glass)
Something to boil the water in (I use my fabulous Hot Pot, which I got at Bed Bath and Beyond, but you can order it from Amazon through the link labeled "hot pot.")

Instructions:
Boil the water. While the water is coming to a boil, put the tea bags at the mouth of the bottle you are going to use. Once the water has boiled, pour the water into the bottle and over the tea bags. Wait until the water gets to the color of dry autumn leaves (brown) and taste it. If it's strong enough for you, take out the tea bags. If you like sweet tea, add sugar. I personally drink tea with out sugar most of the time, so if you want to know how to make sweet tea, like SOUTHERN Sweet Tea, you'll have to go to my friend Arlene at Flour on my Face. (Well, okay, we aren't friends yet, but I can tell that we we will be soon, I mean, what a great name for a blog and though I won't be making sweet tea anytime soon, I love the way Arlene writes.)

Today's joke, courtesy of The Daily Tea:

Why did the tea get away?
Because it was loose.

Fresh eggs n'at

Hello! Welcome! This is my new blog. It's all about living on a prayer, counting pennies (and dollars), cooking, and cupcakes. Actually, it's my first day. I don't know what it will be about, yet, per se, but I'm guessing, since these are the things I'm thinking about these days.

I'm a librarian and book lover, so books will be mentioned, probably, and probably a lot.

On to the matter at hand.

Susan's Easy Hard Boiled Eggs

Ingredients
As many eggs as you want to boil

Equipment:
A pan

Instructions: Use the freshest eggs you have. More on this, below. Put the eggs in the pan. Cover them in COLD water. Put the water on medium, cover the pan, put a timer for 10 minutes, and come back and check. The water should be boiling. Take the pan off the heat, keep the cover on, and put the timer on for another 10 minutes. VOILA!

So why do you need to use fresh eggs, Sarah Louise?

The problem is not with the instructions. The problem is that as a single person, I sometimes have very old eggs in my fridge. (And sometimes more than one carton, because eggs were on SALE!) And of course one thinks, better use the old eggs first! Yes. For scrambled eggs. But not for hard boiled. Why? The eggs will float, for one. The water will not boil, for two (it's TRUE). And the shell will be even harder to remove than usual. Trust me. I've been there, done than, I have the t-shirt.

I'm sure there are scientific reasons for all of the above, but this is not a science blog. If you know the answers, put them (nicely) in the comments. I reserve the right to delete any comments that are not nice, B T Dubbs. (By the way.)  

Well, that's all for today. Come back soon, I'll be posting at least twice a week, and tweaking the layout/design as I go.

Oh, and here's today's joke, thanks to I love eggs:  

What happens when you tell an egg a joke?
It cracks up!